The S/SS guys were not supporting the events anyway. You cannot ask a sponsor to pony up when a dozen cars show up. And, the S/SS guys don't generally support the member tracks anyway. As much as I still wish it was 1969, it's not, and that is the fact.

IHRA is fine. But, they are changing direction. The future is not in class racing. It pains me to say that. But, that's the fact.

The Association is the group for sanctioning drag races. It's not, or is not intended to be a profit organization. How NHRA gets away with what it does, but, that's not the point.

IHRA will be fine. But, it will be what it, and even NHRA, were originally intended to be. Don't bother me at all.

Not sure what to think but it sure looks like the owner group is determined to keep downsizing until they see a profit they like.

Lots of rumblings that a bunch of tracks are looking at other options (NHRA) now. I imagine if too many leave I don't know what the IHRA will think they have left. If this is the best they can come up with, the present owners should really look into selling it off while there is something left to the name. It would be great to see a group of racers/owners/sponsors step up and make a true racers organization/series - similar to what happened after Billy Meyer. I think if the names were known/respected enough, sponsors and racers would support a new IHRA. Maybe Scott Gardner, Royce Miller, Jason Peterson could gather together and rebuild it to close to the place Bader had. I think racers and sponsors would come back knowing that group was now in CONTROL. The last few years, as Gardner's interview on another thread showed, the bean counters and a guy that knew squat about drag racing were really in control with Miller, Gardner and lately Dunn, having little say. I have always felt there needed to be a strong IHRA for drag racing to thrive. Whether you called it an alternative, minor league, feeder, or whatever to the NHRA, it played an important role and I believe always made the NHRA a lot better. Pro Mod, TS and TD all were developed in the IHRA. Now they are some of the NHRA's most popular classes with fans and racers. Many fuel drivers came from the IHRA or kept involved with the sport since it gave them a place to run without going broke. Imagine the NHRA now without McMillen, Millican, the Laganas, JR Todd, Haddock, Diehl and others supporting the fuel classes. How many of them would be there if the IHRA hadn't existed? Some may forget Matt Hagan even started off in the IHRA. Who knows if he would have ever ended up with DSR if that stepping stone wasn't there. Probably wishful thinking but I'm hoping this about to be a new beginning and revitalization of the IHRA, not the final nail in the coffin. If this is the end, then I guess I'll just say it sure was fun, thanks for the memories and contributions to the drag racing world, and glad I got to go to some events when we could say "IHRA and **** proud of it."

Not sure any other tracks are looking at NHRA, and I seriously doubt you are hearing any rumblings with any substance. I'm very good pals with several IHRA track operators, some big ones, and, to be frank, this decision does not effect them, at all, so they couldn't care less. The class racers generally don't support the local tracks anyway, and they don't draw spectators when they do. They did not support the IHRA Regional series, either. If they had, this wouldn't have happened. The President's Cup at MIR had 156 S/SS racers in 2012, this year it had 16. If they don't support it, they won't be there. Local drag strips make their money on special shows, Nostalgia shows, jet shows, and the like. The test & tune nights are big, jet cars, like that, and the local brackets are their bread and butter. Times have changed. The average rank & file racer will never notice. I know for a fact that Summit backed the decision, 100%. It's a different world today. IHRA is not going away, it is changing direction. National events and divisionals do nothing to help the local drag strip in the middle of the state. The local drag strips are not the feeders for the big NHRA and IHRA events anymore, and, I would think that would be alarming to the powers if they are watching. I can count on one hand the number of local guys who started in brackets and went on to class racing, and my local track is a large facility near a large metropolitan area. I started racing in the sixties, and it was commonplace for the local hitters who had a reputation to enter and go to Indy, for example. We did it a lot. But, no more, you've almost have to be a semi pro to enter any large event, and the local tracks don't benefit at all. Sadly, it's not 1975 any more. I wish it was. It's two different worlds.